Paper Trail (T.I. album)
Paper Trail is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released September 30, 2008 on Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges. Unlike his past albums, he wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album, I'm Serious (2001). The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 568,000 copies in its first week, becoming T.I.'s highest debut sales to date, and the fourth highest debut of the year. The album was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 27, 2009. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, and is T.I.'s most successful album to date. The album spawned four singles, all of which reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, two peaking at number one. The track "Every Chance I Get" was featured on the promotional trailer for Armored starring Columbus Short. Background and recording On November 13, 2007, while awaiting trial for federal weapons charges, T.I. announced he had been writing songs for a new album to be entitled Paper Trail. He wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album, I'm Serious. The album highlights his "fear, anger and guilt" as he awaited trial. T.I. recorded nearly 100 tracks during the production for Paper Trail, including a collaboration with Fall Out Boy on a track entitled "Out in the Cold". However the song was left out of the final cut, but T.I. told MTV that he may add some of the cut tracks to his next album. The album was scheduled to be released in September 2008, but was subsequently moved up to an August 12 after the release of the promotional and lead single "No Matter What" and high demand of the album. At the time, T.I. said that the first single may have been "Top of the World", originally featuring B.o.B and Kanye West, explaining that the song was "a reflective song about our humble beginnings and how far we've come". The album was pushed back for a release date of September 2, then September 9 and to its final release date of September 30, 2008, in the US. The album was first released on September 29, 2008, in continental Europe. Track listing 1. "56 Bars" (Intro) 2. "I'm Illy" 3. "Ready for Whatever" 4. "On Top of the World" (featuring B.o.B & Ludacris) 5. "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna) 6. "Whatever You Like" 7. "No Matter What" 8. "My Life Your Entertainment" (featuring Usher) 9. "Porn Star" (additional vocals by Ricco Barrino) 10. "Swing Ya Rag" (featuring Swizz Beatz) 11. "What Up, What's Haapnin'" 12. "Every Chance I Get" 13. "Swagga Like Us" (with Jay-Z featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne) 14. "Slide Show" (featuring John Legend) 15. "You Ain't Missin' Nothing" 16. "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake) Samples * List of singles * "Whatever You Like" Released: July 29, 2008 * "Swagga Like Us" Released: September 6, 2008 * "Live Your Life" Released: November 4, 2008 * "Dead and Gone" Released: January 1, 2009 Personnel * Links * See Also * List of Albums Category:Wikipedia Category:T.I. albums Category:2008 hip-hop Category:2008 albums Category:2000's hip-hop Category:American hip-hop Category:American hip-hop albums Category:Grand Hustle Records Category:Grand Hustle Records albums Category:Albums